They were not upset with their play. They have had too much success to take issue with a win. If anything, they looked at their worst shooting game of the season, making 35.4 percent of their shots, and viewed it as a positive that they could find a way to win, anyway.

At 58-14, they had earned the right to see the bright side. They will happily move on past that game, but with enough wins this season and recently to accept an off night as inevitable and no reason for concern.

1. Coaches often say that the toughest game of a road trip is the first one back home. Rarely had that been clearer. The Rockets had played three games in four nights, traveled on Wednesday and were beyond sluggish on Thursday. A snafu with Toyota Center ticket scanners led to a sparse crowd at tip and an odd atmosphere. All that might be enough for a down game not be a concern. The Rockets got their usual shots, but missed them. James Harden got to the rim, but could not finish. The Rockets were so off, they made just 18 of 28 free throws with Harden missing five shots from the line. He had made at least one 3-pointer in 79-consecutive games, the longest streak in the NBA, but missed all eight of his attempts from deep. At this stage of the season, they can view all that as an aberration, but it also makes their play in the weekend back-to-back more important. They do not want to fall into a shooting slump in the final 10 games of the season. One game is not a slump. It can be considered an anomaly. But as easily as the Rockets could dismiss an awful shooting game, they will need to turn that around to accept ugly wins as beautiful.

Houston Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni tries to explain to official John Goble (30) how Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) was fouled while putting up a shot to end the third quarter against the Detroit Pistons at Toyota Center on Thursday, March 22, 2018, in Houston. Rockets won the game 100-96 in overtime.

Photo: Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle

2. The Rockets began a plan to mix in rest days, sitting Chris Paul with a sore hamstring that Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said would not have kept Paul out in other circumstances. Luc Mbah a Moute went out after seven minutes with a sore knee. James Harden was limping slightly after turning his ankle when he landed on Blake Griffin’s foot on a jump shot. The Rockets want to hit the playoffs as healthy as possible. Their top seed is virtually assured, with any combination of six Rockets wins or Warriors losses in the final 10 games (11 for the Warriors) assuring the Rockets would have the Western Conference’s best record. But resting players late in the season requires a difficult balance. They do not want their regulars to get accustomed to fewer minutes than they will have to play in the post-season. They do not want their intensity to slack off so much that it will be difficult, even for a game or two, to recapture. Treating late-season games differently threatens that. If Harden too often plays 30 to 32 minutes, he could feel the difference late in a game he has to play 38. If Paul sits out too many games, he could find it tougher to bounce back quickly between games in a post-season. At the same time, it would be worse, and entirely unnecessary, to be a tired team when the playoffs start. The Rockets looked tired on Thursday. There is plenty of time left to remedy that and they have been extremely careful about managing workload throughout the season. Harden has played fewer minutes than he ever has with the Rockets. Paul has played fewer minutes than he had played in his career, other than last season when he played .4 of a minute fewer. The Rockets have largely done away with game-day shootarounds. They will be cautious about rest down the stretch of the season, but need to play enough to play well and be ready, a balance that will be the next challenge in a season with great accomplishments and greater aspirations.

3. In the four games since Ryan Anderson returned from his hip and groin injury, he has played almost entirely as a center. Nene has not played at all. In an effort to add another frontcourt player, Joe Johnson, to the rotation, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni had to make a cut and Anderson has played well enough – he had seven points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes on Thursday – to make it work. When the Rockets’ offense bogs down, D’Antoni likes to move to the smaller, spacing lineups to open driving lanes for James Harden and Chris Paul. Playing Anderson at center does that. But there also seems to be potential post-season matchups that Nene’s size could be valuable. If Clint Capela struggles and D’Antoni has to go to his bench against, for example, Steven Adams, D’Antoni’s inclination might be to go with Anderson and either draw Adams out of the lane or hit open 3s. But he would still benefit from having Nene ready in case of emergency. Nene has generally looked the same whether playing regularly or not. It can be difficult to play 10 players significant minutes. Capela will need to play 28 to 32 minutes for the Rockets to be their best. That does not leave many for a backup center, much less for two of them. But while the Rockets look to rest regulars down the stretch, they might want to get Nene some extra time just in case.

Jonathan Feigen has been the Rockets beat writer since 1998 and a basketball nut since before Willis Reed limped out for Game 7. He became a sports writer because the reporter that was supposed to cover the University of Delaware basketball team decided to instead play one more season of college lacrosse and has never looked back.

Feigen, who has won APSE, APME and United States Basketball Writers Association awards from El Campo to Houston, came to Texas in 1981 to cover the Rice Birds, was Sports Editor in Garland before moving to Dallas to cover everything from the final hurrah of the Southwest Conference to SMU after the death penalty.

After joining the Houston Chronicle in 1990, Feigen has covered the demise of the SWC, the rise of the Big 12 and the Rockets at their championship best.